Explore Different topics Regarding Which People Tend To Have Preconceptions

My name is Zale Mednick, and I host the Preconceived Podcast. I work as an ophthalmologist in Toronto while concurrently producing and hosting the podcast.

Each episode explores a different topic regarding which people tend to have preconceptions. Episodes are very diverse and have covered topics spanning relationships, politics, sex, medicine and religion. The goal is to challenge the preconceptions that shape how we view the world and the paradigms by which we live our lives.

I had wanted to start a podcast for several years and decided to finally just "jump in". I enjoy interviewing people with unique experiences and perspectives, and podcasting satiates my curiosity.

In particular, the concept of "Preconceived" resonated with me as I have navigated my way through life. There are so many embedded societal expectations that most of us follow, including myself. I wanted to challenge the notion that a typical life should include a standard education, a monogamous relationship, a 9-5 job, having, and then retiring when older. While this aforementioned may be the life one subscribes to, it should be a conscious "choice", not a foregone conclusion. The podcast examines not only our approach to major life choices, but also our perspectives on topics to which we may have been preconditioned to have a certain opinions.

I release episodes weekly. Having said that, for the first year of the podcast, I only released two episodes per month. That helped me develop a rhythm and comfort level with the podcast production process before increasing the frequency.

It can be challenging to find the time to work on the podcast, but because I really love doing it, carving out the time isn't as hard as I thought it might be. On average, I spend about ten hours a week on the podcast, whether in preparing for interviews, recording, or editing. Some weeks are less, and some weeks are more. I do this in the evenings and on weekends.

Currently, I take sponsorships at no cost to help promote local businesses that I am fond of. I will likely start to monetize soon, but I have wanted to give a platform to small business during the pandemic.

When I started podcasting, it took me about a month for an episode to reach 100 downloads. Over the past two years of podcasting, my audience has grown significantly. A new episode now gets close to 1,000 downloads within the first week of its release. Over the past month, the podcast has had over 10,000 downloads.

The first step is finding guests. I send out a lot of emails to people whose stories I have come across or who are experts in the particular topic of the episode. I've been positively surprised at how many people have responded to my emails and been keen to share their stories or expertise.

Preparation for podcasts varies. For some episodes, I will read the guest's book, if I feel it is necessary and will enhance the quality of the interview. For other episodes, I read articles online regarding the topic. I often ask the guest if they have any recommendations on reading material for preparation. As part of my prep, I put a brief outline together including questions and themes I want to explore. I send this to the guest to make sure we are on the page before the interview and invite them to send feedback and suggestions before we talk.

I record podcasts over Zoom, but I use a microphone, as that really improves audio quality. Prior to COVID, I would record some interviews in person, but most of my guests are international, so I can only do this if the guest lives in Toronto.

The editing process is the most arduous part of podcasting, but one I feel is quite important. I edit my episodes extensively to make them as concise as possible in order to captivate the listener for as long as possible. I use Audacity for editing and have found it very user friendly, even for someone like me who had no prior editing experience.

I began marketing by developing a website and social media accounts using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I also developed a bi-weekly newsletter, and as my email list has grown, there has been a positive effect from the newsletter on listenership.

The most effective marketing I have done has been spending on paid advertisements for the podcast, on Overcast and Podcast Addict.

I think the most important thing for a podcaster is to produce quality content. Even when my listenership was much lower than I would have liked, I kept on going, because I had confidence in the product I was putting out. If you produce quality content, then with time, I truly do believe that it will be found and listened to. Patience is really a virtue in the podcasting industry.

I am still building an audience, of course, but I have been pleased to see my listenership gradually rise over time. Now that I am seeing more growth, I am re-releasing older episodes from a year ago, and they are getting hundreds more listens than upon initial release.

You can learn more about my podcast, Preconceived, at our website, preconceivedpodcast.com . You can find the podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Instagram @preconceived_podcast
Twitter @preconceived_p
Website - preconceivedpodcast.com
Email - zalemednick@gmail.com